decembar 19.2003 *
nTtTiTrTCTCTSnewsbriefs
Continued from Page 9
G L A A D H onors
P o r t l a n d D ir e c t o r
Wing Works, a consulting firm that meets the
needs of nonprofit organizations and political
campaigns. Until April she worked as national
policy director at the Gill Foundation.
She previously served as national field direc
tor for the Human Rights Campaign from 1996
to 1999 and for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation from 1993 to 1996. While
in Oregon she worked against 1992’s Ballot
Measure 9, earning both “Woman of the Year”
from The Advocate magazine and the moniker
"the most dangerous woman in Oregon” from
the radical right.
A
E x p a n d e d A d o p t i o n L aw
C o m m en d ed
T
he Seattle-based organization Families Like
Ours commended the passage of legislation
intended to increase the placement of children
from foster care to permanent homes. President
Bush signed the law Dec. 2 at a White House
ceremony among adoptive families.
The legislation expands a 1997 law that pays
a state $4,OCX) in federal money for every child
who is adopted, provided the state passes place
ment requirements. Under this new expanded
law, the state can receive an additional $4,000
for every adopted child older than 9.
“President Bush has been very good with his
policies toward adoption relation issues in gen
eral,” said David Wing-Kovarik, Families Like
Ours executive director. “Overall, this reautho
rization will help place more children in fami
lies— regardless of their structure— including
those headed by gay or lesbian parents. Provid
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A documentary by gay Portlander Eric Slade (right, with the late Harry Hay, center, and H ay’s
longtime partner, John Burnside) has been nominated for a G L A A D Media Award
ed a state can meet the federal adoption guide
lines, this could he a long-term boost to the ail
ing foster care system. It does not, however,
address the current needs of budget cutbacks
and overworked caseworkers.”
Because this law will encourage more place
ments, it has the potential of being good news
for gay and lesbian adoptive families. Accord
ing to a recently released study by the Evan B.
Donaldson Adoption Institute, public agencies
are 83.3 percent more likely to place a child
with a gay or lesbian family than they were in
the past.
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However, even in more progressive states,
some workers still consider nontraditional families
to be unsuitable for the children on their caseload.
Some states— New York, New Jersey and Califor
nia, for example— have enacted protections that
make it illegal for public agencies to reject adop
tive parents based on sexual orientation.
More than 500,000 children are in the foster
care system nationally, and as many as 126,000 are
awaiting adoption. While adoptive family place
ments have increased— including those to gay
and lesbian families— the number of foster fami
lies available for children has seen a reduction.
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documentary directed hy a gay Portlander
is among the nominees announced Dec. 8
for the 15th annual Gay &. Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation Media Awards.
Eric Slade’s Hope Along the Wind: The Life
of Harry Hay, which aired on PBS, profiled
the man generally recognized as the father of
the gay rights activist movement. The other
nominees in the Outstanding Documentary
category are Showtime’s A Boy Named Sue,
M T V ’s School’s Out: The Life of a (Jay High
School in Texas and PBS’ Brother Outsider and
Daddy & Papa.
The awards recognize and honor the media
for their fair, accurate and inclusive representa
tions of gay, lesbian, hi and trans people and the
issues that affect their lives. Ceremonies will he
held March 27 in Los Angeles, April 12 in New
York and June 5 in San Francisco.
“Fair, accurate and inclusive media images
of our lives and our families have incredible
cultural power— and right now those images
are more important than ever,” said Joan M.
Garry, G LA A D executive director. “This year,
audiences saw stories of gay and lesbian fami
lies and children in Under the Tuscan Sun, Girl-
friends and Essence magazine. They saw com
plex, authentic stories about transgender lives
in Normal and Soldier's Girl. Time and again,
story after story, this year’s G L A A D Media
Awards nominees made a powerful case for fair
ness and equality, and it’s our privilege to
honor them.
”jn
Compiled by JlM R adqs TA
and T im o th y K rause
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